srythfandomcom-20200214-history
Talk:Game Updates 2011
Reorganization of updates, a proposal Hi there. I've not been satisfied with the current Game Updates page. It hasn't really lived up to its name. As it is now, the page is basically a duplicate of the in-game News & Announcements board and, so, is of minor value. The current guidelines for posting updates that distinguish "(official) game updates" vs. "unofficial (game) updates" produces an odd section-heading structure, and makes for a hard-to-read list/table of contents. I also wonder whether the guidelines have restricted/deterred Sryth Wikians from contributing to the page. My idea for the Game Updates page is for it to be a true page where players would come to see at a glance a list of changes to the game arranged by date, and easily check what's there to do. The page would also be a historical reference for all to see how much and how far the game has grown. For the GM :-) it could be a report card showing oven time between announcement and release. And for us Sryth Wiki editors (and for you wiki editors-to-be), the "red links" would prompt what we have yet to chronicle. So I propose the following changes: * Create a separate page for News & Announcements by year. This page will simply mirror the News & Announcements section of sryth.com, and will thus resemble how the Games Updates page looks now, but tidier. * Create a Sryth Adventurer's Journal page. I consider these GM-created updates -- whether giving an announcement, tip/hint, or "flavor" that adds to the world of Sryth -- and thus should be documented on the wiki. * Revise the current Game Updates page (by year) to reflect a simpler, day-based timeline of all updates to the game. This would essentially be a chronological list of dates, and across each a brief 1-line description of the update, which include the following (without making an explicit distinction as to type): ** links to the News & Announcements page for official news announced that day - For instance, "4/17/11: Rhaknar's Mad Level 41+ announced", "4/29/11: Ugguro's Trail announced" ** new game content - "3/19/11: Rhaknar's Mad interlude, levels 21 to 40 unlocked", "5/3/11: Ugguro's Trail adventure released" ** updates to existing game content - "3/10/11: Iron Plaque added to Mirror of Gating", "5/1/11: Moat Guardian - Trossk functionality activated", "4/1/11: Timikith of Phak-Rur now buys your keys, turkeys* and tchotchkes for AT!" (*Turkey-bak feathers and plumes, that is. I have more than one.) ** changes to game features - "3/22/11: breadcrumbs/footprints map feature added", "3/23/11: option to resize map added", "4/?/11: Restoration sub-screen with Heal Full added", "4/?/11: Quick Heal button added", "12/25/11: the Black Octagonal Gem must now warm up during combat before use or else it will backfire on its user then turn into the Lump of Coal" ** links to Sryth Adventurer's Journal postings - "4/26/11: new Adventurer's Journal entry" ** dates of recurring events of irregular/unknown duration not announced via News & Announcements - "?/?/?: Tarlaro's potions on sale/out of stock", ?/?/?: Tallys's equipment X offer starts/expires" ** '''any other events of note' - maybe "?/?/?: new record attained in Lords of Ogredom", "4/?/11: first players max out available residence upgrades", perhaps even "6/18/11: Tome of Attainment announcement second anniversary commemorated" Actually, the current Game Updates page does allow the posting of non-News items (as "unofficial updates"); however, for whatever reason, the page hasn't invited many of these (in contrast to quest pages that receive many contributions, in my view). I'm thinking that overhauling the page to make it simpler and easier to read and update will make it more player-/editor-friendly and ultimately more helpful. Who's with me on this? The community's thoughts would be most appreciated before any reorganization is made. Thanks. :-) --Arakin aka Mercury McKinnon 06:41, May 2, 2011 (UTC) : Good points, Arakin. Unfortunately, right now our wiki is edited by few users. Very few, indeed. I blame Wikia's Oasis skin for this, as I find it rather deters editing, but it's also a reflection of the small population of players. Because of this, I hesitate to recommend an Updates page that requires a significant amount of editor's involvement. However, we can try and see. : The "At a glance" updates page idea is very good. Currently, I don't have the time for that, so you could start converting some of the old Game Updates pages to that format to sort out any problems that may arise, and maybe state some recommendations for the format. : I don't think the "Adventurer's Journal" page a very good idea. We had a Twitter page for that, and it did not attract much attention, if at all. If you want to compile what it's already been published, by all means go on, of course, but I think that both the Twitter and the forum's archives allow players to see old updates. Also, many of the nameless adventurer's comments only make sense if you know what's happening at that moment. Often I've had to check in the forum and the game updates what's going on before understanding them. : As for the current page, I started it on 2008 because we lost a full year of updates on the old forum before that, so I thought a duplicate archive would be a good idea. I think it's still serving its purpose (although maybe the guidelines could be updated). So I'd say let's keep this page as it is now and start the new page for the summarized day-by-day updates. : Scarbrowtalk 17:36, May 2, 2011 (UTC) :: Good idea, whether it's embraced by a great number of users, or not. Twitter is for 'Twitterers,' the Wiki is for essential info-seekers (regardless of the subject's essential or frivolous nature, or anyone's opinion on that), so this is a justified space for updates and info (even more so than the forum, as the Wiki gives access to banter-free, and - ideally, at least - factual data). :: A less strict 'running commentary'-style page where players may note down new things they've observed within the game (as a sort of preliminary record) might be useful. :: So yes, leave the "official updates" page as is, the new one should impose few restrictions (any?!), and allow all who are willing to share, to chime in freely, lest a set of 'rules & regulations," expectations, prohibitions and frowning drive them away or discourage them from adding information, editing, posting. I say 'run with it' as far as it will take you, Arakin, we'll see what comes of it... when we'll see; no use worrying now about who will or will not contribute.--Tetracapillactomist 05:12, May 3, 2011 (UTC) History ;Recognition A good part of the historical information is based on old wiki contributor Hpmons' list of updates (Dated June 15th 2007) - listed by location. Scarbrowtalk 11:30, January 4, 2012 (UTC)